JimRockford

Well,out in California you didn’t have a choice,for the most part if you wanted the big motor on the later third gens you’re only choice was an automatic,PERIOD. Plus out here in the land of bumper to bumper traffic a stick shift gets old really quick. Hell,you couldn’t even get a 400 motor in the 77 Pontiac Trans Am out here,we got the 403 olds instead.

The funny thing is today most people don’t want a stick period and even makers like
Porsche,Lamborghini and Ferrari have gone to automatics claiming they can shift faster
than even the most skilled racer driver. Plus the automatics now also get as good or better mileage than manuals,so that argument for them is also gone. I do agree that part of the experience has been lost,but manuals account for an incredibly small percentage of vehicle sales these days

KITT1983

iTrader: (3)

cool car

KMK454

In pre-L98 thirdgens, I see no reason to ever get an automatic. This 83 Trans Am is nice, but it's never a car I would buy to own - only to flip if I got it at a great price.

Even when the L98 came out, the LB9 N10 T5 cars weren't that far off. It's basically an argument of slow vs. marginally slower but with a clutch pedal. I understand getting an 89-92 L98 auto - if you're in to burnouts and want more of a "muscle car" feel, the L98 delivers. I prefer driving twisty roads (I've never done a burnout in my B4C). For winding roads, autocross, and road courses - give me the LB9 T5.

ev305tpi

iTrader: (3)

Someone stole that car at $16k!

Drew

iTrader: (58)

Did they though? Really? It's a 16k garage ornament. You drive it and things will break, the value will dive like a U-boat with a massive hole in the hull, with some miles on the odometer. It's a statue that has to be waxed and maintained.

83DaytonaTA_Ian

Well, until they get on this forum, we have no way of knowing what they intend to do with this car.

Maybe they always wanted one and got lucky at finding a well preserved car, body and frame wise, so they could go thru and clean up the 37 year old worn out rubbers and such....

Or, to have a clean-slate in which to create a "powerful beast" of some type (there are many levels to this, i'm sure).

Maybe money is no object. We'll just have to wait and see.

As a joke, I fired up the google machine and checked something out - This car likely went for $18-19K brand new in 82-83 (got a sales doc for reference)... which would be roughly $48-50K in today dollars. So they kinda "stole" it. LOL

Drew

iTrader: (58)

Changing anything on that car would tank the value. The only way the buyer can potentially come out ahead is to maintain it and try to flip it later. If they drive it, the value goes down. If they restore it, mechanically, the value goes down. If they mod it, the value goes down. Given current events, it's probably safe to say it's a buyer's market. The buyer might come out ahead if the market ever rebounds. But considering how we're a snap of the fingers away from fighting in the street over a roll of Charmin, it's a gamble. A $16k car you can't drive at the end of the world has limited value.

BizJetTech

iTrader: (3)

Not to mention the Cross Fire Injection issues.....I am amazed it went as high as $16
Try selling that one in the future......the buyer is going to lose $$$ IMO, even if he does not drive it at all.

83DaytonaTA_Ian

The buyer may be naive and unaware. I certainly didn't know everything about mine when I bought my own. I've been very fortunate that I've never had to touch the CFI for any reason. Just things in ignition, exhaust, basic stuff - but not the CFI itself.
Some may be well behaved, some likely never grew out of their teething stage - I'm sure there's a trend of this being the most likely scenario, I've seen this in alot of posts.

Since they spent this much, I hope they really know what the market is for these cars (especially the troublesome history this engine has) and they never planned to make anything close to what they paid back later - that they just wanted it because they wanted it.

I'd be very interested to know the buyer's motivation, that's for sure. I certainly love mine to death.

QwkTrip

iTrader: (22)

Trailer park
For Sale: 1983 Trans Am. Runs but doesn't drive. No oil changes or maintenance ever. NASCAR stickers. Body and interior in great condition. Ask for Bubba.

Collector car
For Sale: 1983 Trans Am. Runs but doesn't drive Never driven. No oil changes or maintenance ever All original parts. NASCAR stickers Commemorative graphics package. Body and interior in great condition. $16K.

KMK454

I agree. When the market recovers, he could send it to auction and likely clear $20k. He'll have to sit on it for a bit though...

ev305tpi

iTrader: (3)

Yep I think so for sure.

Regardless of drivetrain or really anything else... how many sub-100 mile cars out there can be had for $16k? It's a neat car and one of the lowest mile thirdgens in existence.

BizJetTech

iTrader: (3)

IMO, price is reflective of desirability and demand, neither of which this car has.
No different than a 1981 Chevrolet Citation with sub-100 miles on it in the same condition.
It's like new and all but there is no demand or desirability to it.

Drew

iTrader: (58)

It's got a bit for being low mileage and a pace car, but the CFI 305, and early thirdgen factors, kind of balance that back out.

JimRockford

🤣🤣

JimRockford

Didn’t GM drop crossfire altogether in 1985? I believe it only made something like 15 more hp than the carbed model. Hardly worth the trouble of having the fuel pump in the tank,even if it did work reliably.

1983LU5TA

The LU5 was produced from 1982-1983. As long as the throttle shafts are nice and tight (which will affect EVERY carb or TBI), there are no problems. Like I said, I haver literally put tens of thousands of miles on my Crossfire cars, and never had a single problem related to the Crossfire itself. They run just as smooth and responsive as a TPI. They were dogs because of the exhaust and the gearing. As stated, LU5 cars came equipped with either a 2.93 or 3.23 rear. My 83 LU5 Trans Am with L98 manifolds, y-pipe and a catback perfroms every bit as strong as my 91 LB9/T5/N10 Formula, and better than my 88 and 89 L98 GTAs.

And one more time to those that feel the need to comment negatively, just because "someone they knew happened to hear something bad about CFI", or "my CFI car wouldnt idle after I messed with the TB balance screw", or "I like to throw around stupid nicknames because my hillbilly friend did it and I think its cute".........learn about something before you dismiss it. I have put WELL OVER 150,000 miles on all 6 of my LU5 cars combined. Any problems with any of the cars was NOT CFI related..

scottmoyer

Ok, I need to chime in. 11second is incorrect on the year. The Fbody stopped using the CFI in 1983, but GM didn't stop until 1984.

Also, I had an '82 Z28 with CFI in 1985. The car was in the shop all the time. My high school was across the street from the Chevy dealer, so I would drop it off in the morning and walk back to get it in the afternoon. That car spent more time in the shop then on the road. I'm not saying that CFI was bad, but back in the day, the service techs didn't know how to tune or adjust them, so CFI was bad at the time. Because of all the engine issues, GM offered to replace my engine with a new TPI unit, but I already sold the car when that offer came in. My issues started around 20k miles

1983LU5TA

Thats why I said LU5. I made no mention of the L83, which was the CFI 350 used in the Y-body in 1982 AND 1984. Since this is a Thirdgen forum, that was the reference I made; the 1982-1983 LU5 CFI 305.

Drew

iTrader: (58)

Reading is fundamental

^^^It was asked if GM dropped crossfire altogether in 85, that would imply at least that the question included the Corvette, explaining why Scott included the Corvette in his answer.

Not too often I get to break out that smiley. Your comment just doesn't pass the sniff test, in addition to not really being very relevant to the thread.

Maybe if you want to proselytize CFI so strongly, you should create a thread just for that purpose somewhere it will be read by people who care and can apply that information.

JimRockford

Thanks for the info. I knew the third gen f bodies used it last in 83. For some reason I thought the corvette still has crossfire in 84 or 85.

JimRockford

thanks for clearing that up. I thought gm had crossfire in the corvette until 84 or 85 before gm dropped it. Did GM offer tpi conversions to a lot of folks that had problems with the setup? You’d think they would have known how to fix it since it was around for four or five years. Did your 82 have transmission issues too because if the 200c?

Drew

iTrader: (58)

No problem, I could see pretty easily how my earlier comments could be read in a manner they weren't intended. I just wasn't paying very close attention and didn't reread my post before clicking submit reply.

There isn't' much to learn about CFI. It was an attempt to be high tech and look cool, used on the f-body and Corvettes, very shortly. It worked about as well as you'd expect a pair of Iron Duke TBIs bolted onto a 69 Z28 crossram intake, to work... Which is to say it was the biggest EFI flop of GM's 80s production. It was bad by early 80s standards, if that tells you anything. It pretty much never worked, they ran/run like poop and most people have better luck ripping the thing off and installing a 4bbl. Even GM couldn't make it compete, so they went back to a carb before arriving at God's own chosen fuel injection, the holy anointed TPI, savior of many souls and smiter of 5.0 Mustangs. Sadly it took a few more years for GM to fix the other major problem with thirdgens, of course I'm referring to the 305. But that's all discussion for other threads.

ksr

"For the time period, they ran,"

If you're a fan of stock third gens, which I am, this is all that matters. We all know that they cannot complete with very ordinary, modern cars. I don't think anyone here thinks that a 1980s car, unmodified, is going to run with many modern cars. I bought mine - very stock - because I like it. It's still fun to drive and still handles damn well. But its looks writes checks that its performance can't cash. And I don't care.

1983LU5TA

That was the point I have been trying to make. These cars are a blast to drive, whether they run 11s or 15s. 12s for a street car is nothing these days. But simple modifications can wake any car up. Dealing with skeptics such as little Andrew are a waste of breath. I’d love to know what his fleet has consisted of.

Drew

iTrader: (58)

The guy defending CFI, in a thread where no one cares about CFI, is calling people idiotic and talking trash on TPI? You can't make this stuff up.

I come here for entertainment. It's cheap fun. It's very entertaining watching someone brag, slobber, and troll their way into a probationary account status or a ban. You've already had your comments moderated in this thread, but keep going, it'll be fun to see what happens next.

BizJetTech

iTrader: (3)

Drew

iTrader: (58)

Why are you talking about "simple modifications" on the History/Originality subforum? Are you lost? This subforum isn't about modifying anything. This thread isn't about CFI, it's about a 83 Trans Am and CFI only came up as an explanation of why the car has low miles, and why the car sold cheap, etc. No one is remotely interested in modifying CFI in this thread.

BizJetTech

iTrader: (3)

Stop the HATE dude!!
Your bashing one of the longest time members with the most experience and knowledge with ALL third gens on this forum.
Have a little respect for those that BUILT this forum and always willing to help members. I respect DREW and have tagged him respectfully as "Mr. Wizard".
If you'd stop carrying on about "deep 11 second time slips" and the insanity of saying a Cross Fire Injection is the greatest thing since sliced bread maybe YOU
could actually learn something from a group of highly experienced third gen owners.....or just go away......either way CHILL OUT

Drew

iTrader: (58)

At least the Iron Duke wasn't ever supposed to be the flag ship of the line. I can say that at least the Iron Duke runs, until the engine blows up anyway. The big problem with the 2.5 was that same sluggy wallowing driving experience as every TBI GM car. They all feel like you're towing The Blob behind the car. With the 2.5L you just go WOT when you want to move, and let off to coast or brake. On the highway, if you see a hill coming, you hold it to the wood going downhill, and hopefully at the top of the next hill you're still doing at least 45mph. A CFI thirdgen is like that, but with more sputtering, wheezing, backfiring, and "WTF, I thought this was a fuel injected V8?".


Actually... I have to edit that a bit... A buddy from the forum, years back asked me to take his 83 Daytona to a gas station to get something for him. His car didn't sputter or backfire really, it was just wheezy, and dangerously slow for a car with NASCAR stickers all over it. I parked at the gas station, and a passer-by asked me if it was fast, I kinda shook my head and told him no, not at all. He nodded back, almost like he understood it was a CFI car and not the 4bbl.

scottmoyer

Ok. I plan on responding to a question, then locking this ridiculous thread.

Yes. I did have transmission problems. I tried pulling out of a bank on a rainy night, the car didn't go and instinct said to apply more gas. I did, and the car did a 180* right in front of a cop. Of course I got pulled over and ticketed. I went to court to fight it with a transmission service letter in hand. Didn't matter. Rosco and Boss Hogg got their ticket money from me and the insurance company enjoyed some extra cash also!!!